


Un-Orthodox Barding

by Jimmy_Rustled_Bird



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-07-31 11:21:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20114284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jimmy_Rustled_Bird/pseuds/Jimmy_Rustled_Bird
Summary: A collection of prose pieces for various characters.------A part time bard sits in a bar and sings.





	1. Fleeting Whispers- Thancred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a certain bard/rogue/??? that if you were in Ul'dah, you would meet first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thancred Waters- Infatuation

_Fleeting Whispers_

Into the desert you were spirited away

Newly arrived traveler [so tender and green]

Hearken to the hazy beat of the sun

Among the burning mirages

Beckons the fair-faced stranger.

Hear you the whispers?

Playful, beguiling laughter laden

With promises of adventure

Will you follow, fortune-seeker

Or forever wonder what could have been?

Chase the fleeting scent

Of the wild rose's thorns

Flickering as the midnight flame

_He knows what you seek _

_He poses you more questions still_.

In the alleys he waits (for you)

Enticing you to the whispering sands

Stranger- not stranger (not to you)

_Do you yearn for fleeting dreams _

_To weave with such a comely friend?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking requests, so if you want a specific character and tone, or specific characterS and tone, comment me or drop me an ask on my tumblr (ffxivmingxiajiang.tumblr.com). And if you have a story, I can also do this for OCs!
> 
> Iiiiit's Thancred! Someone must have seen a handsome, mysterious stranger lurking about in Thanalan.


	2. Lord of Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Haurchefant Greystone - Lord of Camp Dragonhead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A song for a beloved leader.

_Lord of Silver_

Come, weary wanderer

Come out of the cold

To the kind lord's fireside

Hidden in the snow.

He would welcome all who hail

From lands far from the north

Bring what news you have

He will watch, he will listen.

Fortemps, Fortemps, Knight of Dragonhead

He of sharp eyes

Swift to discern

The encroaching subtle treachery.

Let none raise arms against

His allies, friends and guests.

His strength and steel are wrapped

In ardent warmth and kindness.

So rest, storied traveler

Away from driving winds

'Neath the shelter in the wilds

Where dwell the lord of silver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How would he be remembered? He, who is at least respected by adventurers, must have inspired at least one song.


	3. Ballad for the Soul Keeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS AHEAD, IF YOU DIDN'T FINISH SHADOWBRINGERS SKIP THIS CHAPTER!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emet-Selch/Hades- Remembrance

_ Ballad for the Soul Keeper _

Trickster, Emperor, Keeper of Memory

Wand'ring the border of Time

Yearning for those halcyon days

That which was 

Will never be again.

Your hands dip into the River

Changing the weave built by men

How little they are to the giants of before

Fading fast like mayflies in summer.

Between the Light and the Dark

Is a spiralling coil of shades

Every player is a shattered mirror

Their history witnessed- but not fully understood.

A coaxing, gentle hand

Yet kindly persuades these souls to chaos

To splice each sundered part with fire

Reunion paid with blood.

Yours ever was a heavy burden

But did it need to grow so large?

Remember, remember he who is

Solus, Emet-Selch, Hades

He chose

He watched

He taught

He judged

He moved.

Unheard by many, but felt by all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This man's deeds would have gone unsung, for nobody save those he has directly touched would know of what he did.


	4. Questions to the Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS FOR HEAVENSWARD, PLEASE SKIP IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THAT EXPAC!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zephirin- Why?

_ Questions to the Wind _

Zephyr/Zephirin/Zephyrlike/Aeolian

Aye, who are you/Who were you

Who should you have been

Gentle you were/you were not

Reason you saw/Reason you asked for

Beholden to the storm

Of a phantom that is no more!

Aye who were you, Zephyr

Who could you have been

Were your words your will

Or was your will your spear?

Whose will do you now execute

What protest do you have

Are you the wind caught in the mill

Made to do what you would not?

Aye, you whip the oceans

Into a frenzied storm

Whether it be your will or his

The answer is the same!

The lamp that hung to guide your kin

Extinguished by your hand/was it ever what you wanted?

Zephyr/Zephyr/Zephirin

Do you now wander free

Do you stand before the arbiter

The Fury in her firmament

And who here shall bear the weight

Of the strings that bound your hands?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once the hatred fades, those who witnessed the truth of the Heaven's Ward, those who had seen more than just the cruelty...they would ask how and why.


	5. For the Exarch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS FOR SHADOWBRINGERS, SKIP IF YOU'RE NOT DONE IT YET!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal Exarch- love

_ For the Exarch _

I knew you once when we were young

Eyes unclouded by the treachery of men

I knew you once to explore wondrous ruins

And then we parted to reflect on what we learned.

I met you again when we were older

World-weary and hungry for peace and joy

I met you again on another world

Where each of us was just trying to help.

Another crisis we have survived

And you presume me to wander

You would be right, Crystal-Learned Friend

But I would linger a while yet

I would tarry with you for a time

We have scarce had a chance to just be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many know him as the Crystal Exarch, yet a few call him by another name, and call to him with affection.


	6. Speaker of Sapphire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He who leads but is not a king.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aymeric de Borel- admiration

_Speaker of Sapphire_

Leader on the mountain high  
Commander, who sees with clear eyes  
Whose gaze is fixed upon the vast blue sky  
Towards the promise of a peace free of lies.

His intention is as clear as the night  
His guidance shall set things aright  
Lay the trail for the youth shining bright  
Ever patient, he forgives their accidental slight.

He watches with cards held to his chest  
A careful tightrope- a dance with no rest  
Each move is planned- it is for the best  
Knowing full well that ahead lies the true test.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those who can guide men despite their chaotic natures are forces to be reckoned with. But those who gain the willingness of their men to follow are rarer still.


	7. What Fight Is Good?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One might call a hero a person of unusual skill and strength, but others might instead say they are a product of extraordinarily bad circumstances. They just didn't break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warrior of Light- bitterness

_What Fight is Good?_

Never shall you touch the threshold

And call it true your home

The hope to which all will look

May place no roots in earth

For discord shall be sown

Among the nations gathered close

Should you ever say 

_ "To you I shall return." _

No love is yours to keep

For though your hands grant life

Death, too, have you wrought

What was a simple means of living

Spiraled higher- larger still.

Secrets do you breathe and

Secrets do you face

Hidden in the veil of living sand

Growing in the rising stones

The dreams of the world are yours to guard

But here do _your_ dreams go to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This business is a full time job that has no benefits and doesn't pay well at all.


	8. Quest Seeker [Adventurer]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For all of the adventurers at all parts of the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who seek their own path.

Something is missing.

A hole where it should be full

Lacking where there should be plenty

It is in all of us.

The road calls.

The wanderer answers

Fortune, glory, power/ Knowledge, revenge, companionship

They are looking for something.

It is never enough.

A title is bestowed, known to all.

Prize with a curse.

The wanderer is always a wanderer.

It is never enough.

Riches beyond compare is theirs

But for what?

Still they seek.

It is never enough. 

Strength beyond mortals is theirs.

Yet they cannot be everywhere.

They strive even still.

They gain.

They lose.

Fortune sways as the tide.

In and out, in and out.

It will be enough

When the world stops trembling

The monsters quiet for a moment

When they can settle.

They seek and wander and move.

They give of themselves

Wishes fulfilled- all but their own

Emptier, hungrier, while the others grow full.

Stand in a circle and breathe

Not a one, but a many

Shoulder to shoulder held fast at the hands

It will be enough then.

At the door of beginning I hunger for adventure

In the middle of the road I want for rest

At rest the wide sky has me wish for friends

And amongst friends I wish for time to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Entry for the FFXIV Writes 2019 challenge. Prompt #1: Voracious.


	9. One for Me, One for You [general]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short poem for those who would sing of love.

_ One for me and one for you _

_ A sweet, a thought, a favor to do _

_ A pair of cups and plates for two _

_ A drink to share as we pass through _

_ One for me and one for you _

_ The minutes here are precious few _

_ To be so long away ever do I rue _

_ How I wish I could join you too _

_ Oh, one for me and one for you _

_ A whisper, a song of hidden things true _

_ A promise given and spoken anew _

_ No longer divided beneath brilliant blue. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Entry for Prompt 20 of FFXIV Writes 2019: Bisect


	10. Name that is both sword and shield [Warrior of Light]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Warrior of Light.
> 
> If you forget yourself, then what are you, really?

To the wanderer of the difficult path

Hold fast to the name that defines you

May you ever find confusion 

To be called the Warrior of Light

For you have ever been a simple spirit

Swift to smile and swift to help

An offered apple in one hand 

A defender’s blade in the other.

_ My name is... _

To the one that bears joy and love

Keep safe the voice that calls you by name

Keep close the spirit who calls you a friend

For a friend is a person and person is not a weapon

Oh beloved fool who resounds in your heart

Yours is a silent legend sung by all you have touched

Yours is a tune kept long- long after you have left

May you return to each other with the song of life sung loud.

_ You are… _

Wanderer who has walked a hard path

Much has happened since last you sang of your own joys

Have you kept the confusion at the title

Or has the title supplanted your name?

All the world has placed its hopes and dreams upon you

So heavy and expansive is the burden

What space have you left for yourself?

You who have become a legend among legends

Beware the loss of your truth and your name

For a legend who forgets their origin and roots

A legend that has lost their name

Is a weapon and an empty vessel.

_ The Warrior leads… _

Sing of silver

Sing of gold

Sing of the happy days of old

Before they asked you to deliver

Remember well the blooms that flourish

Honour the ones that were pinched too early

Walk among the dreams gleaming pearly

Your hope with patience nourish

Tear and heal and heal and tear

But never lose yourself

A warrior is only a warrior if they recall

They are more than a weapon after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FFXIV Writes 2019  
Done for the extra credit day.


End file.
